A buddy and I are looking at getting a small boat. Looking to use it on the upper deschutes and the coastal rivers in Oregon. What sort of things should i look for. Like should it be a drift boat or sled (the one on skagit master). wood vs metal. and the right lenght. My knowledge of boats is very limited. any advice would help thank you.

thonyb: I don't know what the upper deschutes looks like so it will be hard for me to point you in the right direction, plus I don't know what a skagit master looks like. A drift boat has a flat bottom and is curved on the ends which makes it ideal for use on running water as it is very manuverable. If you look on the Hyde Drift Boats web site you will see a number of models. They make a high side model for running rougher water, a low side model for floating calmer rivers where wind is constantly pushing the boat and then skiffs. Here is my personal experience, I bought a used drift boat a couple of years ago. My reasoning was that here in WY and in CO the landowner owns the river bottom, so you can't wade on water crossing private property. You can float through without stopping which gives me much more access to good water than just staying on public access points along the rivers. It takes a little practice to get the hang of rowing but is not difficult, at first you will have no control, so try it on a lake first to get the hang of rowing. I bought the Hyde DVD on rowing a drift boat and the local fly shop loaned me the Clacka DVD, plus I bought a copy of Dennis Breer's book Drift Boat Fishing 101 which has some excellent tips on rowing a drift boat. In addition, Davo (a forum member) who guides out of Jackson Hole, WY offered to give me some pointers while we did a float together with Fysh. That feedback really helped me get started. Here is a link to Dennis Breer's book:Drift Boat Fishing 101 w/ Dennis Breer - DVD